A letter from a ghost

Samer Issawi has sustained his hunger strike for eight months and counting. Israel is bored.

A group of exceptional Israeli women started visiting Samer Issawi in Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot a few days ago. They are not being allowed into his room, but they open his door holding out flowers and call out words of encouragement until the guards drive them away.

We would like to hereby express gratitude to you and your Israeli
colleague writers for the letter of concern you wrote to Samer Issawi.
We interpret your action as a manifestation of sympathy for the
suffering of this innocent man with his prolonged agony and struggle in
the name of an ideal that cannot but be the recipient of enormous
respect. As a respectful reminder to all us all, Mr. Issawi's plight is
one of unselfish act. He has chosen to sacrifice the essential element
needed for living, in the name of freedom for his family, the people of
Palestine and lastly himself. Again, it is not an act of suicide or self
deficiency but the waking realities that those on the outside have
ignored such cries for freedom. With the same respect towards you, we
implore you to use your influence as a public figure to take further and
more effective steps to intercede with the Israeli authorities on Samer
Issawi's behalf, for his safe and timely release and return to his
family. We are confident that you , as well as your distinguished
colleagues, will be willing to promote this initiative of great
humanitarian value with much fortitude.

I am greatly encouraged by your decision to bring up Samer Issawi's
brave struggle. It's a good example of non-violent, peaceful resistance
that politicians, organizations and individual citizens in Israel and
all around the world have claimed that Palestinians should pursue, but
when it has been done, media on a global level has been almost utterly
disinterested - partially, we can suspect, for political reasons - to
report about these struggles. There has been, I feel, an attempt to
silence this non-violent resistance that would open new paths of
peaceful resistance on a larger scale if supported. From people who want
to silence or belittle Samer struggle, I ask this: If you can't support
peaceful, non-violent resistance like this, then what on Earth wouldyou
be ready to support?

Nothing is stopping the terrorist from eating. I will send him a falafel
if it ends all the fuss about him. The bottom line is the terrorist was
freed because Hamas captured Gilad Shalit and the terrorist had a
precondition which was do not return to Judea and Samaria and terrorism.
The terrorist broke this condition. He violated parole and now he can
finish out his sentence or starve to death whatever he prefers. He even
has options.

Gideon Levy: It may be a bloodcurling letter from Samer Issawi, but can
you ask if he would have had free reign to commit an attack against
Israel, would it have moved you Gideon Levy at all? I do not think so.
Gideon Levy would have written about Samer Issawi's family mourning his
detention and his "unjust" imprisonment. Issawi need not have
gone through all the imprisonments if he woudl just have kept out of
terrorism. It is that simple. I does not curl my blood at all.

Samer Issawi may have commited an act of terrorism as you love to call.
But the question is who drove him to such an act? It is you and the
likes who deprived him of his freedom and stole his land. These are the
true criminals who should be kept behind the prison walls.

First, his act was a response to the terror and the second, the repeated
imprisonment - so the current situation - was against the agreement and
without any specific reason, he was imprisoned again. This shows that
this occupation and colonial power, has no morals, no backbone, knows
just wickedness.

What would the situation be if we reversed the peoples' places? The
settlers in the west bank in place of the palestinians and vice versa?
What would the settlers do if their lands were being annexed yearly?
Being thrown out of their homes, given 20 times less ratio of water,
denied free passage and treated like a 2nd class human beings? I wonder!

The Arab leaders deprived his freedom by attacking Israel and trying to
deprive Jews of freedom. Better he has no freedom than I. On the other
hand, the door is open to him to claim his freedom elsewhere. Not on our
back. We will even help relocate him, and everyone will live happily
ever after. If he chooses to starve, why would anybody interfere with
his wish not to eat. He is a terrorist, who deprived others of the
basics of humanity. Starve my boy.

Is Israel and the Jewish nation not permitted to defend itself from
these thugs, who kill infants like the Fogels. Are you not permitting
Israel to defend itself. He must stay incarcerated for good. Any food he
refuses to eat will be put to good use to feed the poor, who deserve it
far more.

We saw our homes taken from us in Gaza. We saw our holy places handed
over to the enemy after OSLO. We see Arab settlers attacking our
families routinely, murdering our children and threatening us. Arab
settlers steal and vandalize our property daily. Arab settlers pollute
our water and land. We Jews are not allowed to freely travel in our own
land. This is what we face, but I realize it's not reported in the
anti-Israel press so how would you know!

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